A Walk With Ryou Bakura
by Night Rain Illusion
Summary: Heartshipping. One rainy day, Yugi takes a walk with Ryou Bakura and finds that Ryou is very philosophical. They start hanging out more and going on other walks. Hmm, maybe there's something more to this guy...
1. A Walk in the Rain

Hello everyone! You will no doubt recognize this as "A Walk in the Rain", only this is the new version! More will be coming, so STAY TUNED!!

This one is more than twice as long as the original, so I'm sure you will all love this one more than the original.

I don't own Yugioh. I don't own Heartshipping. I don't own Yugi or Ryou. I don't own you. Now read.

**A Walk in the Rain **

_The Rain's Orchestra_

The bell chimed signaling the end of the school day. Yugi stood up and gathered his books together. It had been another one of those boring old school days where nothing ever happened. His social studies teacher had drone on and on about World War I, and since he had heard about so many times, he kept having to hold himself steady and not fall asleep in class with his head propped on his arm. Yugi took a quick glance at his three best friends Joey Wheeler, Tristan Taylor, and Tea Gardner walking out the classroom door. He had plans to walk with his friends to the card shop and hang out. He left the class to go to his locker, narrowly avoiding someone with white hair(he quickly apologized over his shoulder without looking back) and he watched as Joey, Tristan, and Tea walked up to him.

"So are we on for today?" he asked cheerfully. His face fell at the expressions that had suddenly spread across their faces.

"Sorry Yugi-kun, but I have to be home early today." Tea said sadly. "My mother wants me to help her around the house before some guests come over for dinner. Remember? Tonight's when my father has that dinner with his boss and fellow employees."

Before Yugi could ask the other two, Joey interjected.

"And me and Tristan have detention again...Sorry Yug.", Joey said. "I didn't actually think that Mrs. Harris would really be that angry about that drawing of her with the body of a Blue Eyes Ultimate Dragon."

"Speaking of which Joey, that was kind of cool the way you made her have three heads and was spitting flames in the shapes of F's at those drawings of the students I did.", Tristan pointed out.

"The point is," Joey glared at Tristan, "We can't come with you. Too bad. We have to be stuck in detention writing lines about how much we 'love' Mrs. Harris."

"Oh...ok then." Yugi said sadly. He usually walked home with one of them everyday. That way the bullies couldn't get the jump on him on his way home. Because of his reluctance to fight back and he made for an easy target, Yugi was often a victim of kids bigger than him beating him up or mugging him, but after he had made friends with Joey, Tristan, and Tea, kids didn't try to beat him up anymore. But that didn't really stop them from throwing out short comments or preventing him from heading home by himself. Yugi took his bag and headed toward the front doors. He then made a discovery that it was raining down hard. Yugi sighed.

"And I didn't even bring an umbrella." Yugi muttered. In hindsight, at least the bullies might not even bother trying to jump him in rain.

"Than I can share mine." said a voice. Yugi nearly jumped out of his skin from being startled at someone being there. He turned to see Ryou Bakura standing next to him, carrying a bright blue umbrella. He had long white hair that was way longer than most boys should have long hair and it seemed to spike out in some other directions at times. (Then again, Yugi had no right to talk judging by his own tri-colored hair.) His brown eyes seemed to be staring at Yugi curiously, waiting for him to say something.

Ryou Bakura was from England. (Or he was living there but was from Japan, Yugi couldn't really remember) He and his father had moved to Domino City, Japan about two months ago after a car crash had killed his mother and sister. (He didn't like to talk about it) His father was an archaeologist who was currently away in Egypt uncovering some recent ruins that had been discovered. Ever since he had come to their school, he had also become a prime target for bullying because of his "girlish" figure. True, he was rather skinny for a guy and spoke with a soft voice but with a slight accent, but maybe that was just how British people looked and spoke.

Yugi hadn't really thought about making friends with him. (Joey didn't really want to jump on that bandwagon by being friends with the girly guy) Besides, he had thought that Ryou didn't really want friends, judging from how he avoided everyone and never really looked at anyone's eyes.

But today, he seemed different than the quiet Bakura that he usually was. Ryou was actually smiling, a first that Yugi had ever seen him do.

"Hi Bakura." Yugi greeted. "You don't mind if I walk with you right? I live down by the card shop."

"Yeah I don't mind. In fact I have to pass the card shop to get home." Ryou said. Yugi inched closer to Ryou so that he was under the umbrella. Noticing how close they were, Yugi blushed.

"Sorry Bakura."

"That's ok." he shrugged as they started walking toward the card shop. The rain seemed to let down even harder. Yugi shuddered at how cold it was, careful to avoid the ankle deep puddles that were along the way. They walked together in complete silence until a rather large raindrop hit Yugi in the face.

"I hate rain..." Yugi muttered.

"I like rain. I see it as the Earth's way of cleansing itself." Ryou said suddenly. Yugi stared at him. Since when was Bakura so...philosophical?

"The Earth's way of cleansing itself?"

"Yeah. Like no matter how wrong things go in the world and no matter how bad things get, the Earth is able to purify itself and cleanse itself of sin.", Ryou explained.

"Wow...I never thought of it like that..." Yugi said to himself. They walked in silence for sometime, the only sound heard was the pounding of the rain. Yugi started to see what Ryou meant by "Rain cleansing the Earth". Some of the grime in the streets was washing down the gutter drain, making the street suddenly seem cleaner than it used to be. There was a sudden rumble of thunder in the air. The noise made Yugi jump a little, nearly smacking into Ryou.

"It's just the thunder Yugi-kun. It's the Earth's way of celebrating." Ryou said softly.

"Celebrating what?"

"The Earth is celebrating its cleansing. It wants itself to be heard by all."

"Thunder still scares me though..." Yugi said quietly. Ryou politely nodded as he looked up at the darkened clouds up above that refused to let up. Yugi glanced at him, noticing for the first time how gentle, yet intense his brown eyes were.

A lightning bolt flashed in the sky with another clap of thunder. Yugi jumped even more and clung to Ryou.

"Although lightning scares me a lot more..." Yugi whimpered. _That's odd...I don't think I've ever said anything about that to the gang..._

"The Earth is using lightning to light itself up. So that it can be seen by all. Lightning is nothing to be feared." Ryou said calmly. He didn't even seem to be fazed by Yugi's grip on his arm.

Yugi relaxed his death grip on Ryou, but would flinch and cling tighter when the lightning flashed along in the rain.

"You know, it's like an orchestra, a thunderstorm..." Ryou said suddenly.

"An orchestra?"

"Yeah. Listen to the sounds of the thunderstorm. Doesn't it sound like an orchestra playing? Listen carefully to the sounds rain makes when it comes in contact with things." he explained.

Yugi perked his ears to listen to the pounding rain and thunder. Bakura had a point, it did sound a little bit like an orchestra. Another lightning bolt flashed, but this time Yugi didn't jump. He was now able to enjoy the falling rain and the thunder and lightning, which had lessened up lightly. The rain made small "kerplunk" sounds when they splashed into puddles, tin roofs "ratta tattaed" from the rain, and some wind chimes were blowing around in the wind. All the sounds combined with the thunder and the occasional lightning strike really did seem to feel like the two of them were watching an orchestra play a song.

The thunder represented drums, drumming their very own tune while the lightning cymbals clashed in the background. The swirling gray clouds added to the color and made it seem all the more better. The wind's flutes and clarinets whistled softly while the violins strung their bows, slicing the rain through the air so that it would spread everywhere and not just in one place.

They soon reached the card shop. Yugi ducked out from under the umbrella to the card shop door. He squeezed some water out of his multi-colored spikes of hair before facing Ryou, who was watching.

"Thanks for walking home with me Ryou." Yugi said. "But you know, you didn't have to..."

"But if I didn't have to, then why did you accept my offer?" he asked curiously.

"Because..." Yugi stopped, realizing that he really didn't have a good reason. "Well, I figured that maybe if we walked together, maybe we would get to know each other a little but more. Maybe we could be friends..." he trailed off.

Ryou laughed a little. "I guess we could say that we are friends now."

"You're right. We are friends now. I never knew you were so deep, really."

"My mother was a bit of a poet. She read all kinds of books and stories and taught me things like that."

"She must have been a really great mom." Yugi smiled. Ryou smiled sadly.

"She was. I'm sure that if she had met you, she would like you."

"I'm sure that I would like her too." Yugi agreed. "So, I'll see you later?"

"Of course. Maybe we can hang out some other time. See you later." Ryou waved as he walked off down the street, disappearing out of sight. Yugi looked up at the rain and lightning and then back to where Ryou had been standing a moment before. He came inside and drained some of the rain water out of his clothes before looking outside. The sun was starting to peek out in between the clouds, but it wouldn't last long. Yugi thought back to Ryou's words before, trying to imagine what the sun would be right now.

_...An audience cheering the orchestra...this ones asking for an encore._

Yugi couldn't help but smile.

_I should start walking with Bakura more often..._


	2. A Walk in the Flowers

I decided to put this one before Walk in the Snow for some obvious reasons, like seasons and such...

There is a time gap from the "chapter" before this one. This one takes place about a month and a half later. There will be future time gaps in this story.

I don't own Yugioh. I don't own the adorable Heartshipping couple that is Yugi and Ryou.

**A Walk in the Flowers**

_White Rose in the Meadow_

"Hey kid, are you even listening?"

"Huh?" Yugi asked, jumping up from the bench that he had been sitting at. He was sitting on a bench at the park, dazing off into space. It was a quiet, peaceful Saturday afternoon. It was one of Yugi's favorite spots to come and think and sort out stuff. He had been so out of it that he had not realized that someone was talking to him.

"Are you reading that?" the man asked as he pointed to a newspaper that was sitting next to Yugi. An old lady and her dog had been there a moment ago reading the paper. Yugi shook his head and the man took it for himself, opening it up. The headline, "Kaiba Corp's Next Biggest Project, Scheduled to Be Released Soon", glared back at him as the man walked off with the paper. Yugi sighed as he put his head in his hands, trying to remember what he had been thinking about a moment ago. His gaze lingered over to a field of marigolds and roses and tulips that spread out through the park. Domino Park was quite famous for its flower gardens.

He spotted among the red roses something odd. A single white rose. It was slightly shorter than the other red roses, but it was more opened upward toward the sun than the others. He could clearly see the sharp thorns poking out of its sides. How strange for there to be a white rose among red roses. It kind of reminded him of Ryou...

Oh, now he remembered what he had been thinking about a moment ago.

Ryou Bakura.

He had not seen the albino looking teen around school as much as he used to anymore. And he always seemed to show up whenever Yugi's friends were not around, so it always made it hard for Yugi to introduce Bakura to the others. They would mostly just stop to say hello or goodbye if being the case. He never really saw Bakura out at his and his friend's local hangouts, or he could never find him after school, strangely enough. Even now, during the summer, he still never caught sight of Ryou, who should not have been hard to miss because of his white hair. Sometimes Yugi had to smack himself to make sure that Ryou was not an illusion of his mind. His thoughts traced back to the time they had met, about a month or so ago when Yugi had forgotten his umbrella and had to walk home by himself in a heavy rainfall.

But then Bakura showed up with an umbrella to share and the two walked to the Game Shop together. He soon found that Ryou was a very philosophical person, as Ryou told him about his views on rain, especially about how a storm was like an orchestra. Nature's symphony, so to speak. They had promised to meet again another time and maybe walk together again. But that promise had been made a long while ago. Where in the world was he anyway?

Truthfully, Yugi didn't really know anything about Bakura; except that he was from England and that his father was an archeologist who was currently in Egypt uncovering a Pharaoh's tomb. Other then that, he didn't know anything else. Heck, he was pretty sure that Bakura didn't know anything about Yugi either.

"Next time I see Bakura, I got to make sure to really talk to him." he muttered aloud.

"Talk to me about what?"

Yugi nearly face-faulted off the bench at hearing someone coming up behind him. He looked up and found Ryou Bakura's face above his. Ryou came around the back of the bench and pointed next to the empty spot on the bench where the newspaper had been a moment ago.

"Is this seat taken?" he asked politely.

Yugi numbly nodded as Ryou sat down next to him.

"So how are you Yugi-kun?" Bakura asked.

"Fine. You?"

"Same here."

Great, it sounded like forced small talk. So now Yugi turned to face him.

"So how come I haven't been seeing you around school as much as before?" Yugi asked. Ryou shrugged.

"I guess I'm just busy."

"Doing what?"

"Oh you know: Homework, science projects, reading, etc."

"I see." Yugi sighed. Ryou tilted his head slightly.

"Something wrong?"

"N-no! Of course not! I just-just...ahhh..." Yugi stuttered. After a moment, a question came out.

"Hey, want to go for a walk? Here, in the park?" he asked. Ryou smiled before they both stood up.

"I would like that very much." he smiled. The two of them took off through the park along the stone steps, sometimes stopping to look among the various gardens. Sometimes Bakura would point out a particular flower and give a scientific name for it and a small remark about what he thought about it. They soon stopped and sat down on the fountain next to the bed of roses. Yugi had a particular question on his mind.

"Who are you? I mean, that one time we were walking to my house, all we did was talk about the rain. We don't really know each other, do we?" Yugi asked.

"I guess not. So, as you just asked, who are you, Yugi?" Ryou asked, but with a slight laugh.

Yugi couldn't help but laugh as well. "Well, I'm Yugi Mutou. I live with my grandfather and mother at the Game Shop, as you saw. I have four friends: Joey Wheeler, Tristan Taylor, Tea Gardner, and now you, Ryou Bakura. I'm into puzzles and Duel Monsters. Now what about you?" Yugi asked at the end of his introduction.

Bakura frowned slightly. "Where is your father?"

"Outside of the city. My father is a business manager of a huge company. My parents are divorced, so I visit him once a month as his office." Yugi explained. Ryou averted his gaze for a moment.

"We're a lot alike Yugi. We both have fathers who aren't around as much as they should be." he muttered. Yugi didn't seem to catch the way his tone had been edged.

"What about you Ryou?"

"My father is in Egypt. We both moved here after a car crash killed Kaa-san and Amaya, my younger sister."

"I'm sorry to hear that Ryou." Yugi frowned.

"It's to be expected." he shrugged.

"I'm sure that your father also feels bad about it too."

Yugi watched as Ryou's face darkened slightly, his eyes narrowing as he stared hard at the ground. It was kind of scary how intense his eyes looked. After a moment, he looked over at the bed of roses. Yugi followed his gaze and saw the same white rose that he had spotted before.

"Roses were Amaya and Kaa-san's favorite flowers. I come here all the time to think about back then and all the things that have happened. In a way, I think that white rose represents me. Stuck in the tide among others trying to sort out all my thoughts before moving on. In a way, you also remind me of a white rose as well Yugi-kun."

"I do?" Yugi asked.

"Yeah."

He didn't elaborate anymore on this, so Yugi instead decided a different approach.

"Ryou?"

"Yes?"

"Can you promise to meet me here some other time? That we can meet up here and hang out? This will be our special place, since we both like coming here to sort out our thoughts and feelings."

Ryou looked away from the white rose, smiling. He squeezed Yugi's hand that had been sitting next to him.

"Ok. I Promise."

He stood up and started walking away. After a moment, he stopped.

"We have a lot more in common than you think, Yugi-kun.", he said without looking back.

He soon left not only the park, but he left Yugi with more questions than answers.


	3. A Walk in the Leaves

Yes, it's another "walk" with our two favorite (ok, MY two favorite) people, Yugi and Ryou. They were my favorites in Yugioh anyway.

I don't own Yugioh. I don't own Heartshipping or the adorable couple that is Yugi and Ryou. I wish I did, but that would require me owning the entire Yugioh series, where I would rewrite it to make this couple seemingly possible in the show...or something...sorry, now I'm just rambling...

**A Walk in the Leaves**

_Buried Underneath the Foliage_

"Ryou! Hey, over here!"

Ryou snapped around at the call of the shorter male that was running toward him. Yugi grinned up at him, glad that he had caught up. On one of Yugi's frequent visits to the park, he had spotted Ryou walking down the street away from the park. Despite the promise that they had made last time, Yugi still had not seen Ryou at all at the park or during school hours, so he was almost ecstatic at seeing the white haired friend nearby. He couldn't explain his precise feeling behind this, just elated joy at seeing his friend, he supposed.

"Ah, Yugi-kun. What brings you here?" Ryou asked.

"What have you been doing lately Bakura?" Yugi asked casually.

"Catching up on homework and reading some good books." he shrugged. Yugi caught the title of a gold covered book in Ryou's arms. **Egyptian Theories: A Study on Pyramids, Reincarnation, and Other Aspects of Ancient Egypt.**

"I see that you're really into Egypt." Yugi pointed. He didn't notice the way Ryou bit his lip.

"...Let's go." he said suddenly as he started walking away. Yugi had to hurry to keep up a little with Ryou's fast strides. Panting slightly, he looked up at him.

"Where...are we going anyway?" he asked curiously.

"That's why you sought me out, wasn't it? To catch up with things and walk around for a bit." Ryou asked.

"Ah...yes. Yeah, of course!" Yugi chirped. They soon reached a lower downtown part of Domino, where many colorful trees with different colored leaves decorated the city. The Domino Plant Garden was down this way, Yugi realized, especially when they stopped outside of the gate leading in.

"Hey, why don't we walk around here for a bit?" Ryou asked, and before Yugi could even say yes, Ryou had grabbed his hand and pulled him through the gate after muttering a greeting to a security officer nearby. Apparently, they took looking at plants real seriously around here. Ryou slowed down slightly, but had still not let go of Yugi's hand, as if he was leading him to a specific part of the garden. They soon stopped, where they kept some of the tallest trees of Domino, all vibrant shades of brown, red, green, pink, blue, yellow, white, and violet. Due to the fall season, many of the colorful leaves had fallen from their branches and made huge piles all around the trees.

"Isn't it beautiful?" Ryou asked. Yugi nodded, before addressing the issue at hand.

"Umm...Bakura?"

"Yes Yugi-kun?"

"You're still holding my hand."

An awkward silence fell between the two as Ryou immediately let go of his hand. "Sorry," he said after a moment, "Got a little carried away with showing you these trees."

"That's ok." Yugi dismissed with a slight wave of a hand. He could see why Ryou liked these trees enough to practically drag Yugi here. They both sat down underneath the shade of the tall trees, watching the leaves swirl downward around them every once in a while. Knowing Bakura, Yugi felt like he was waiting for him to make some philosophical remark about why trees shed leaves or something along that line. But Ryou didn't even say a word, book in his lap, elbows propped up on it with his mouth touching his closed hands, his eyes watching the leaves falling down. After a moment of silence, Yugi finally spoke.

"Bakura?"

"Yes Yugi-kun?"

That was another thing, why all the formalities? Not that it bothered Yugi anyway, but it was a little much. Of course, he didn't voice this aloud.

"What do trees make you think of?"

Ryou picked his head up from his hands as he turned to look at Yugi. "Do you really want to know?" he asked quietly.

"Of course."

"They make me think of my mother."

Yugi stared.

"On a tree, every individual leaf is slightly different from the other leaves in some shape or form. In a way, these leaves are the tree's children. The tree protects them by holding them high up from the ground, away from trampling feet and leaf blowers. Holding them against the weather. But then the tree ends up losing its leaves, leaving them all alone someday. In some cases, the tree is cut down due to some force of nature. Who was there to protect the tree from harm? No one, except its children who couldn't really have down anything about it. I think of myself and Amaya as one of those little leafs from the mother tree. The mother ended up getting cut down while Amaya was torn to pieces by harsh fall. And me? I'm still drifting here and there, blowing through the wind wondering if the next sewer I sail over will end up being my watery grave."

Yugi picked up a star pointed leaf up off the ground.

"You blame your father for it?"

"In a way, yes. He was like the lumberjack who used the saw, AKA car crash, to cut my mother down. He was never around at home to spend time with us, so he wasn't there for her to protect her from things like this."

"I'm not sure if your father really would have been able to prevent something like that. Fate works in really weird ways and not often in the ways we like." Yugi pointed out.

"True..."

Yugi twirled the leaf he had picked up in between his thumb and forefinger. "Did you ever think that the reason trees lose their leaves is because the mother tree feels that the time is right? The time for their children to go out into the world and travel all over the place? Maybe your mom wants you to let go too, but she never got to tell you that..."

"I suppose so.", Ryou said after a moment. He spread out onto his back to look up at the clouds peaking through the clouds. Yugi took the initiative and spread out next to him to look up at the clouds as well. The leaves crunched underneath them and he could feel some of the leaves fall next to him. A couple fell on their faces, which made them both burst into fits of laughter every once in a while.

"What do you see when you look at the clouds?" Ryou asked sometime later.

"Well, I'm kind of seeing something over there that looks like the Batman symbol from that one American movie I saw...and over there appears to be a Kuriboh kicking the crap out of Darth Vader from that other American movie..."

Ryou laughed. "Yugi, I was kind of serious."

"Ahh..."

He would never admit to Ryou what he really saw up in the clouds on that particular day. A distinct cloud that looked like two people holding hands. One had long hair and was holding what appeared to be a book under one arm while the other had spiky hair.


	4. A Walk in the Snow

And here's the new version of "A Walk in the Snow", so enjoy that this one is finally back!

I know that it's kinda quick for me to update again twice in the same week, but I was finished with this, so I just figured whatever, I should just go ahead and put it back up. Also, I'm also spending a lot of time with this fic and getting it done faster. Besides, suffering from writer's block on my drama/humor stories. I'm feeling in the romantic mood right now.

I don't own Yugioh. Why oh why do I keep having to say that?...I might as well say I own Dan Green(English voice actor of Yugi and Yami. I obviously don't own him...)

**A Walk in the Snow**

_Snowflake Purity; A Peppermint Surprise_

Yugi Mutou shivered from the cold. He was standing outside of the mall, just after buying Christmas presents for his friends (Grandpa included). The snowflakes clung to his spiky multi-colored hair. He was ankle deep in snow and it took a lot of effort to just walk through it, as he was laden down with presents. He couldn't even see anything in front of him, as snow obscured his vision.

He had gotten new motorcycle gloves for Tristan, a scarf for Tea, a pack of Duel Monster cards for Joey, a poster of a Blue Eyes White Dragon for Grandpa, and a few other small things. He hoped the gifts would make them happy. It pretty much cost him his whole allowance. He now carefully walked through the snow, making sure not to drop any of his parcels. A snowball suddenly whizzed by and hit him in the back of the head. Yugi tripped and fell forward, causing him to drop all his bags. Even though his head was buried in snow, he could still hear voices.

"Ha, nailed that Yugi dork from school!"

"Did you see the look on his face? Priceless!"

Yugi sat up and shook snow out of his hair. He should have expected that, bullies from school passed through there frequently on the weekends. But in his moment of hurrying along to home, he had forgotten to be on the lookout for them. He waited until they had left before picking up all his gifts. As he reached out for the pack of duel monster cards, a gloved hand suddenly placed itself over his. Yugi looked up to find a somewhat blushing Ryou Bakura.

"I was walking down the street getting a gift for my father, when I saw those guys hit you." Ryou explained. Yugi smiled, seeing that Ryou was finally on good terms with his father. They had definitely been spotting each other a lot more than they had before at school, which was really nice for Yugi. Ryou removed his hand, and Yugi felt the cold overwhelm his ungloved hand once more. Yugi picked up the pack and put it back in one of the bags. "Thanks for helping me up"

"No problem." Ryou smiled. Yugi stood up and brushed all the snow off his pants. He picked up his bags. "Well, I guess I'll see you later."

"Heading home?"

"Yeah.", Yugi answered.

"Well, I have to head that way too. We can walk together if you want."

"Sure.", Yugi smiled. Company sounded nice to him.

The two began to walk back toward the card shop, trudging through the snow. After a moment, Ryou said, "You want me to help you carry those?"

"Could you?" Yugi asked as he handed a bag to Ryou. He felt Ryou's gloved hand over his once more for a brief moment as he took the bag. Yugi felt shivers go up his spine that had nothing to do with the cold.

They now walked in some silence, until Yugi broke the silence.

"Hey, Bakura..."

"Yeah?"

"Remember how we walked together like this in the rain? And then in the park and Domino Gardens?"

"And?"

"You told me about what you thought of rain, flowers, and trees. Tell me...what do you think of snow?"

Ryou looked up at the sky, watching the raining flakes falling down. "Hmm...I think snow...is like a form of art."

"A form of art?"

"Remember how I said rain is like a form of music, an orchestra made by God to celebrate the cleansing of the earth?"

"Yeah I remember..."

"Well, I think its art created by God. To celebrate...the creation of life..."

Yugi nearly fell over. "Creation of life?"

"Snow is a form of purity. When we are all first born, we are all pure. No sins, no regrets, no pain. Just pure and simple. That is the time when we begin to shape our lives into a form of our choosing, whether we decide to remain pure and good, or become of sin. Snow is God's way of celebrating our purity at birth. As far as it being an art, if you think about it, no two snowflakes are exactly alike. Each snowflake represents a person. An individual's purity."

"Ryou..."

"Yes Yugi-kun?"

"Do you make this stuff up as you go along?"

Ryou blushed a little. "Maybe.", he laughed. Yugi couldn't help but laugh too.

"So Yugi, what do you think of snow then?"

"I guess I can see it like the way you said it, but..." Yugi started saying as he stopped walking. He suddenly bent over.

"But what?" Ryou asked.

"I mostly see it as a chance to hit you with a snowball!" Yugi said as he scooped some snow up and formed a snowball. He straightened up and chucked it at Ryou, where it hit him squarely in the face. Shaking his hair out, Ryou laughed. "Oh no you don't!" he said as he set the bag down to make a snowball. He took this one and threw it at Yugi, which went and hit him in the chest.

"Hey!" he laughed as he scooped up more snow. The two kept up this mini snowball fight for sometime until both were exhausted.

"We better get back to heading to my Grandpa's shop. He might be worried about me.", Yugi said after a moment. Ryou nodded as they picked up the bags and started back to walking to Yugi's house. Ryou suddenly noticed how Yugi was blowing on his numb hands.

"Cold?" Ryou asked.

"You can say that." Yugi said after a moment.

Ryou stopped for a minute to take off his gloves. "Here Yugi-kun. Use these."

"But what about you?" Yugi asked.

"I'll be fine."

Yugi shrugged as he slipped on Ryou's gloves. Warmth immediately hit his numb hands. "Thanks Bakura."

"Don't mention it.", Ryou smiled. After some time they reached the card shop. Yugi turned to face Ryou. "Thanks for the company Ryou." he said as he gave Ryou his gloves back. Ryou pulled them on as he handed Yugi his bags.

"You need to stop thanking me; it's not a big deal." Ryou joked.

Yugi went silent for a moment, before suddenly brightening. "Hey, wait one sec.", he said. He started searching through all the stuff in his bags when he suddenly realized something. He had neglected to buy a gift for Bakura. He mentally cursed himself. How could he have been so stupid to forget a gift for Bakura of all people?

"Oh...sorry Ryou, I forget to get a gift for..." he started to say, but he suddenly felt a pair of warm lips press against his own. He blinked in surprise when he realized it was Bakura. But...the kiss felt somewhat inviting, so he decided to let it continue. Yugi thought that he could taste peppermint. He felt Ryou's tongue move around inside his mouth, and then Yugi's own tongue inside of his. His heart was racing around in his chest; he didn't want the kiss to end. His hands had dropped the bags and he felt Ryou's gloved hands wrap around his. Yugi vaguely recalled how he felt similar to this when they were walking together in the rain. Maybe it had been the spark for...something much more...

After a long moment, they both broke apart, both of them blushing red. The snow continued to fall around them, like as if nothing had happened.

"You don't have to get a gift for me, Yugi-kun."

"Yeah..." Yugi muttered, oblivious at the moment to anything Ryou was saying.

"I'll see you later, Yugi." Ryou said as he started to walk away.

"Bye...Ryou..." Yugi said slowly, still a little fazed by the kiss. After his senses finally caught up to him, he suddenly called out. "Ryou!"

Ryou stopped walking. "Yes Yugi?"

"Uhh...if you ever want to...uhh...come over or hang out or anything like that...let me know!" Yugi flustered. _What the heck has gotten into me? Why did I say that?_

"Sure Yugi. I'd love to." Ryou smiled as he continued on his way, making Yugi think of the way he had emphasized the word "love". Yugi stood there for a whole complete minute without moving, until the door opened to the card shop. His grandpa was standing in the doorway.

"There you are Yugi. What are you doing just standing there?" he asked. Yugi shook himself mentally.

"Nothing, I was just coming in.", Yugi quickly said as he picked up his bags. Grandpa cocked his head to one side.

"I saw that Bakura kid walking off. Did something happen?" he asked.

"N-no, nothing happened. We just walked together here and now he was going home. He was helping me carry these bags." Yugi said.

"That's nice of him. So, what did you get for me?" Grandpa asked as he was about to open one of the bags.

"Hey, you can't find out until Christmas." Yugi said as he took the bag back from his Grandpa, his mind still firmly attached to that kiss.

_I never knew his breath...his kiss...tasted like peppermint..._

_I think...we just gave each other a Christmas present...that kiss..._

But there was something that bothered him about it. Why did Bakura kiss him anyway? And what was this strange feeling that he had left him with?

"Great...now I'm even more confused than ever.", Yugi moaned as he flopped onto his bed later that night, resolving to himself that he would confront Bakura about it next time he saw him.


	5. A Walk in the Dark

So heres the next walk! Yugi confronts Ryou about that kiss from last time. Will he get the answer he wants? And will he finally sort out his feelings for Ryou?

I don't own Yugioh. I don't own Yugi, Ryou, or the awesomeness that is Heartshipping.

**A Walk in the Dark**

_Kiss of Shadows_

Over the next few weeks, Yugi couldn't help but avoid the white haired boy. Ever since...that day...he had found himself choking slightly every time he caught eye with Bakura at school. It was obvious that Ryou wanted to talk to him, probably about...that day...but Yugi couldn't bring himself to confront this at first. Why did he suddenly feel so confused in the first place?

He found it very hard to concentrate on anything anymore, as his thoughts always went back to Ryou. Yugi sighed loudly, tapping the pencil against the remains of a half-finished essay one particular morning. He sure that he was just imagining it, but it felt like he could still taste peppermint. He gripped the pencil slightly. Why did Bakura kiss him? And why did it bother him now more than it did at the time? What were these weird feelings that were pounding through his heart?

"Damnit!" he suddenly swore aloud as he accidentally gripped the pencil hard enough to break it in half.

"Mr. Mutou, is there something you need to say?" the teacher spoke up, a few kids snickering around him.

"Nothing. Gomen." he replied. He thought he could feel Ryou's eyes burning into the back of his skull from his seat in the back row.

On his way to his next class, he spotted a note taped to his locker. Ripping it off, he recognized the left-handed writing.

_Yugi-kun_

_Please me at the park. 10 pm._

_Ryou_

Yugi frowned. Why would Bakura want to meet him in the park? And why so late at night? It might have to do with that kiss. Yugi could feel a slight apprehension crawl into him. Was Bakura going to kiss him again? Strangely enough, it didn't deter him from wanting to talk to Bakura. Yugi bit his lower lip. In fact, he was almost hoping that he would-

Yugi shook these thoughts out of his mind, instead focusing on how to sneak out that night and on the fact that Ryou had addressed him as "Yugi-kun" in the letter instead of just "Yugi"

* * *

Yugi locked his bedroom door, praying that his grandfather wouldn't come checking up on him at some point in the night. Throwing open his window, he slowly climbed out onto the roof. Crawling slowly over to the edge, he peered down into the alley next to them. He slowly started to lower himself down, his feet brushing against the trash cans as he tried to get a good footing on them. He figured out how to sneak out of the house this way (since Joey used this way to visit him whenever he snuck away from his father) but he never before had an actual reason to be leaving in the middle of the night. He would have simply asked Grandpa if he could go out, but then he would have had to come up with a really good reason to be going out at 10 pm on a school night. He was pretty sure he couldn't use Tea, Tristan, or Joey as an alibi since his grandpa might call them at some point wanting to talk to him.

The cool night air was slightly chilling as Yugi made his way to the park. He passed by a billboard advertising Kaiba Corp's latest product as he crossed the street to the park's entrance, wondering if Bakura was the effect of his uninterest in Duel Monsters recently. No, that wasn't right. He was just slightly weirded out to really concentrate on Duel Monsters at the moment.

He stood at the park's gates, looking around for any sign of him. The few lights that were on glowed brightly and Yugi could indicate a few people here and there, whether they were couples on some romantic date or homeless people sleeping on benches. He pushed the gates open as quietly as he could, walking around and trying to find a speck of white among the black. Yugi soon reached the fountain where he and Bakura once sat at before. Deciding to just wait for him here, he sat down on the edge, listening to the sounds of insects buzzing and watching pennies and dimes glitter faintly in the bottom of the fountain.

Yugi wasn't sure how long he had sat there, but he started to think that Bakura was late. Or maybe he wouldn't show up at all...

Yugi stood up and faced the fountain itself. It had been built sometime ago where the money that people dropped into the fountain would go to a children's hospital up the street from the park. But now it had rusted slightly, the coins in the water almost as old as the fountain itself.

"Yugi?"

Yugi nearly face-faulted into the fountain as he heard the quiet voice in the dark. Turning around, he spotted Ryou standing behind him, hands behind his back. He looked slightly surprised to see that Yugi had actually shown up. Yugi shifted nervously from one foot to the other, lost for words.

"Ba-"

"I'm sorry."

"Huh?" Yugi asked, as he had been cut off by Ryou.

"I...uhh...about what I did..." he muttered.

Yugi's suspicion was confirmed. Ryou wanted to talk about that kiss.

"Ryou, you don't have to say anything. I'm not mad at you." he quickly said.

"Then why were you avoiding me?" Bakura asked with a raised eyebrow. Yugi could feel a dull blush rise to his face.

"I-I guess I was just confused. Why...why did you kiss me?" he finally blurted out, although slightly louder than he meant to. Thankfully, there weren't any couples or homeless people nearby eavesdropping. Yugi watched him, waiting for an answer. Ryou closed his eyes, as if contemplating the right words. Then he opened his eyes again and said three words.

"I love you."

Yugi felt taken aback by this confession. "You...love me?" he asked weakly.

"I think that you're a very sweet person. The nicest person I have ever had the pleasure to meet. Very inquisitive, kind...there's a lot about you I like. You were the first person to talk to me since I moved here. In fact, I think that you're the only person I have ever talked to since moving here. You make me feel...happy, I guess." he explained. Yugi's knees were shaking slightly. Bakura...loved him?

"Yugi, I see that this is a bit much for you. If you don't feel the same way, I understand." Ryou quickly said, though looking slightly hurt. "If you want, I'll leave and we can forget I ever said anything."

Yugi watched as Ryou slowly retreated away. Biting his lower lip again, he ran after him, grabbing him by the arm and turning him back around. "Wait Bakura!"

"What?"

"I...I really like you too. You're a really nice person too. And you're really smart and philosophical. You make me think and feel things I never thought about before. I always look forward to seeing you on the streets or at school and I like talking with you. You are a really good friend to me. I don't want to stop being friends with you. I...I think I feel the exact same way as you do.", Yugi said, feeling the weight lift from his heart. He wrapped his arms around Ryou's chest, burying his face into the white sweater.

"I...I think I love you too." he whispered. Yugi looked up into Ryou's face, which looked like he was silently crying.

"You really do? You're not just saying that?"

"I mean it. I wasn't sure what it was I felt when I was around you, but now I think I know what it is now.", Yugi answered, feeling his eyes tear up as well. Ryou lowered his face closer to Yugi's causing their lips to connect. Yugi closed his eyes, remembering when Bakura had kissed him the first time. This one seemed to be more...more passionate, if the word could be applied here. No hesitation whatsoever. The familiar peppermint taste came back, entering his senses as they continued the kiss. He wasn't sure what time it was, hell, or what year it was (it felt like it had gone on forever) when they finally broke apart.

"I guess...we should be getting home now." Ryou finally spoke.

Yugi had completely forgotten about his grandpa. "Oh your right. I need to get home before he realizes I'm gone."

"I'll see you later then." Ryou waved as Yugi started running to the park gates.

"Of course! Be sure to come over sometime! My offer is still open!" Yugi shouted over his shoulder. It felt like his heart was skipping. He had kissed Ryou Bakura and told him how much he loved him.

The female population of the school wasn't going to be happy about that.

Yugi suddenly came to a stop outside of the alley next to his house. The familiar feeling of apprehension and doubt was back.

...How were his friends and family going to react to this?


	6. A Walk in the Sun

The next update to A Walk with Ryou Bakura! Yugi finally introduces Bakura to his friends, but how do you get around the whole "he's my boyfriend" barrier? This one was actually based on when a friend of mine was telling our group of friends that she was dating another girl. If your wondering which one I was, I was like the Tristan in that situation-blissfully silent, but quite accepting. I'm not sure how people in Japan feel about bi-relationships, so I based it on how me and my friends feel about it.

God, Ryou is so out of character at the end. When I made the Ryou of this story, I kinda combined both him and his yami together personality wise. I don't want messages like "Ryou isn't like that" or "How can you have him say something like that?". It's completely fictional and this will probably be the only time that he ever says anything like that.

I don't own Yugioh. You happy now? Are you? Why do you people keep making me say it? Do you get some kind of sick enjoyment out of making me suffer?

**A Walk in the Sun**

_Exposing the Light of Truth_

How long had he and Bakura started being a couple? A few weeks maybe? Not an official one per-say, but the point was that they were together. Ever since that night in the park, Yugi had been either going off during every other weekend to hang out with Ryou, or sometimes he would sneak out at night to the park where they could be alone together. And every chance they got after school, they walked home together. What more could he want?

The problem lay in his friends. They still had no idea about their relationship. Heck, his friends didn't even know Bakura existed, or at least that he and Yugi were friends. He had tried to get a word in edge-wise, but somehow it never came up. His grandpa, however, at least knew who Bakura was. Last week, Yugi had introduced him to Ryou. Of course, he got the reaction he had expected, that grandpa would mistake it as "just friends." It took a little more prodding and explaining that Yugi was actually in love with Ryou for him to catch on. Thankfully, his grandpa accepted it, which made Yugi breathe a sigh of relief, but that didn't stop the way his grandpa would stare at him sometimes. That was probably something that would never change.

Now onto his friends. Sure, he could pretend that there was nothing going on with his friends around, but that wouldn't be fair to Ryou. He voiced this to Ryou one night at the park. They were sitting on a park bench, Yugi's head leaning against Ryou's shoulder.

"Hey Ryou?"

"Yes Yugi-kun?"

"I'm thinking about telling my friends. You know, about us..."

Ryou shifted slightly. "How come?"

"I don't think its right to have them sitting in the dark about this. Grandpa knows about it, and he accepted it just fine. They're my friends, and I'm pretty sure that they'll accept it too." Yugi reasoned. Ryou didn't speak for a moment, leaving them silenced in the blissful darkness. After a moment, Ryou spoke.

"The moon's out tonight."

Yugi looked up at the full moon above him. "Yeah, it is."

"I think it's here to make sure that nothing bad happens in the dark. Night can be a mysterious thing. No one knows what really happens in the dark. People hide their secrets in the night, hoping that no one will find them."

"Bakura?"

"Yes?"

"Do you want me to tell them?"

"...Yes, I think you should. If you want, I'll be there with you when you tell them." Bakura offered as he turned to face Yugi.

"I would appreciate that." Yugi muttered just as their lips connected into a kiss.

* * *

It had been set up; Yugi had convinced Joey, Tristan, and Tea on meeting him at the park. (It didn't take much convincing since they wanted to know what it was Yugi wanted to tell them) Ryou and he would both show up together. Yugi vaguely wondered what they would think about this. Surely they would accept it, right? Or would they be offended by Yugi dating a guy? That type of thing was still a slightly new concept, which was probably why Yugi was amazed that his grandpa accepted it, but then again, it was grandpa, he would understand.

As the two of them came near the park gates, holding hands, he could see his three best friends standing by some benches. He had at first thought to have them meet them by the fountain, but lately, the fountain had become his and Bakura's special place, so he didn't feel like sharing it. He sighed as Ryou clapped a hand on his shoulder. "You still want to tell them?" he asked.

"Yeah." Yugi said faintly as the two entered the park gates and made their way over. Tea was the first to spot them.

"Hey Yugi!" she called with a wave, causing Joey and Tristan to turn too. They all suddenly put on puzzled expressions.

"Why is Bakura here?" Joey asked somewhat rudely, almost as if Bakura wasn't actually there. Yugi ignored it.

"I've been meaning to tell you about him. This is my friend, Ryou Bakura.", Yugi said, putting extra emphasis on "friend". Bakura bowed slightly.

"It's good to meet you." he said politely. Tea, Joey, and Tristan, introduced themselves as well. After a moment, Tea pointed at Yugi's hands.

"How come you two are holding hands?"

A dull bush crept over both his and Ryou's face. Yugi half expected for Ryou to plainly say it, but for once, he had nothing to say. Probably figured that Yugi should be the one telling them. "Well, that's just it. When I say that Ryou is my friend, I mean that he's my **friend**." Yugi said, heavily emphasizing the word. But they still didn't catch on to it. God, what was he supposed to say? Hey guys, did I also mention that I and Ryou are in love with each other? Well at least not like that anyway.

"What, it's not like you two are dating, right?" Joey joked. Only by seeing the looks that both Yugi and Bakura were giving him that his grin faltered.

_Joey..._

"Wait...you two isn't dating, are you Yug?" he asked. Before Yugi could speak, Ryou spoke for him.

"As a matter of fact, we are." he said quietly, but in a slightly imposing tone. Yugi now snapped to Ryou.

_Ryou..._

"Is that true Yugi?" Tea asked. Tristan looked puzzled, Tea seemed lost, and Joey's expression was unreadable. From looking at Bakura, he looked impassive, but was nodding slightly. Yugi turned back to his friends.

"Actually, Ryou is telling the truth. Me and Ryou..." he paused, feeling his comforting hand squeezing his, "Are dating."

He waited for the explosions, but none came. Instead, he heard Tea squeal suddenly. "Hey Yugi, congrats!"

"Wait, wha-"

"It's good to see that you found someone that cares about you like that. How long have you guys been going out?" she asked.

"About a week or two. We met about sometime last year." Yugi said, glad that Tea seemed to accept it right away. Tristan didn't say anything, but he was smiling, another good sign. Joey, however, was still frowning slightly.

"But you two are..."

"Guys? Should that really matter?" Ryou asked.

"He's right. It's not about whether they are the same sex as you, it should be about if you both love each other." Yugi agreed. Joey still looked skeptical.

"Alright, if you say so Yug. I guess I should be happy for you." he said with a slight shrug. After a moment...

"You guys haven't actually...done anything, have you?"

"No!!" Yugi and Ryou both shouted at the same time. Tristan and Tea simultaneously smacked Joey in the back of the head.

"Get your head out of the gutter Joseph!" Tea scorned him as everyone else laughed.

* * *

"I didn't think that they would accept it that easily." Ryou commented later that evening. Yugi and Ryou were lying in the grass at the Domino Plant Garden, watching the sunset. It was agreed that only Yugi's friends and grandpa would know about the relationship. Ryou might have told his father, if he was even around, but no, he was still somewhere in Egypt. After spending the afternoon with Yugi's friends at the park, the two had left to the Domino Gardens. Now they were lying in their special secluded spot, among the ring of trees and flowers, looking up at the clouds. Yugi was lying pressed up against Ryou.

"They're my friends. Of course they would of accepted it.", Yugi murmured, taking in the peppermint scent that Bakura gave off. The clouds drifted lazily overhead, exposing the sun as it started sinking.

"You know, I think that the setting sun suits us. It's finally set for us. We no longer were keeping this a secret." Ryou whispered. Yugi laughed suddenly.

"What's so funny Yugi-kun?"

"You think too much Ryou." he giggled as he nuzzled his face into Ryou's hair. If he could see Ryou's face, he would have seen the small smirk.

"Isn't that what attracted you?" he asked curiously. Yugi didn't answer that, thinking to himself about that. Yes, it was probably Ryou's intelligence and philosophical persona that had brought the two together. As if reading his mind, Ryou laughed. "I thought so." Yugi laughed too as Ryou rolled over, now over Yugi. Ryou bent down as his face was mere inches from Yugi's.

"I love you Ryou." Yugi muttered.

"I love you too." he said as their lips brushed against one another before turning into a passionate kiss. The sun was just about gone when Ryou suddenly broke the kiss.

"Hey Yugi?"

"Yeah Ryou?"

"How come we don't do anything?" he said with a hint of sarcasm.

Yugi turned redder than a tomato. "R-ryou!" he screeched slightly.

"I'm just kidding Yugi-kun!"

"You better be!" Yugi sputtered.

"What were you expecting? For me to screw you senseless?" he joked.

"RYOU!"

"Yugi, I'm kidding." Ryou said, putting back on his usual serious composure.

"Thank Ra.", Yugi breathed. For a second there, he thought Ryou was serious. They laid there in complete silence, their bodies pressed against each other as the sun fully set. After a moment, Ryou suddenly whispered,

"You know, if you really wanted to-"

"No Ryou."

"Merely checking."


	7. A Walk in the Dawn

And here it is...the final chapter! I promised myself I wouldn't cry, but I think I nearly did at the end. Prepare for some fluff at the end, did it to please the yaoi shonenai fans. And myself to see if I could write fluff, and I think it came out nicely. So...

I don't own Yugioh or Heartshipping. This might be the last time I ever say that...

**A Walk In The Dawn**

_Confusion Meets Clarity_

Yugi Mutou was once an average, ordinary high school student who liked puzzles. Then he met Ryou Bakura, the first person to ever make him feel things that he had never felt before. Ryou made him feel serene, peaceful, and most importantly, in love. He loved the way he talked, the way he hugged him, the way his soft lips seemed to be able to perfectly fit over his own...

Life just couldn't get better for him now. Sure, he still had high school problems and he still got picked on by other people (the number of times that he had been jumped after school decreased significantly since his relationship with Ryou had started) but he had found love in someone who loved him as well, and friends and family who gratefully accepted it. The relationship itself wasn't completely public, just known to his friends and family. Ryou still had not managed to tell his dad about the relationship, and Yugi decided that it was fine that his father didn't really know too much about it, after all, he sympathized with him about having fathers that keep you in the dark.

Yugi looked down at what he was currently doing. A few years ago, his grandfather had given him a puzzle box that supposedly came from the tomb of a pharaoh in Egypt. He had spent the past years trying to put it together after completing his homework, but ever since his meeting with Ryou, the quantity of time spent working on the puzzle decreased less and less until it became once in a blue moon. That night, he couldn't sleep, so he figured that he should try to work on it. He had a few pieces connected together, but oddly enough, it felt like he could now put it together. That it had suddenly become easier and that someone was whispering the instructions to it in his ear.

He soon got close to the end, just a few pieces away from completing it. But as he looked out the window, he noticed the dawn arriving. He had stayed up until the extremely early morning hours. Yugi yawned as he walked over to his window, looking outside. Throwing open his window, he leaned on the sill, feeling attracted to the way that sun and night connected into a stunning dawn. He couldn't help but laugh at that thought, especially since he could imagine Ryou saying something similar to that. His eye then caught something on the streets. For a brief second, he was sure that he had seen a flash of white disappear around the corner.

_Bakura?_

Yugi quickly dressed and started heading for the door, but then his eyes rested on his almost finished puzzle. He picked up the golden eye, looking at it as if it was staring at him. After a moment, he put both the eye piece and the rest of the puzzle back in the box.

It could wait.

* * *

Ryou Bakura was once an average, ordinary English high school student who enjoyed board games. Then he met Yugi Mutou, the first person to ever make him feel things that he had never felt before. Yugi made him feel cheerful, calm, and most importantly, in love. He loved the way he laughed, the way he ran his fingers through Ryou's long hair, the way he would press closely to him...

Life just couldn't get better for him. Sure, he still had family problems and such, but his current relationship with his father was getting better, with his father promising to come home sooner. Ryou wasn't alone anymore now that he had Yugi, and he was happy for Yugi that his family and friends had accepted their relationship. Otherwise he would have felt guilty if they didn't. But they had both agreed early on, it didn't matter if they had not accepted it, the important thing was that he had found love in someone who loved him as well. As long as they had each other, nobody else mattered to Ryou.

That particular night, he had trouble sleeping, so he read a few books to pass the time. Ryou now sighed before turning to the box lying on his table. His father had just recently sent it as a gift, something he had bought in a bazaar in Egypt. Curiously, he pulled the lid off, revealing a gold ring with an eye in the center. He wasn't sure what to make of it, as he felt slightly put off by it, since his father only sent gifts when it meant that he wouldn't be seeing him for another month or so. He rubbed a finger over the eye, as if to knock off the feeling that the eye was staring at him. He was tempted to pick up and put it around his neck.

He glanced out the window, realizing that he had stayed up to dawn. He walked over to his apartment window, throwing it open, relishing the quiet air about him. He felt serenity wash over his heart, as he watched the sun and night connect into a stunning dawn. He couldn't help but laugh at that thought, especially since he could imagine Yugi's inquisitive amethyst eyes watching him as if listening to him in awe. His eye then caught something on the streets. For a brief second, he was sure that he had seen a flash of tri-colored spikes disappear around the corner.

_Yugi?_

Ryou quickly dressed and started heading for the door, but then his eyes rested on the opened box of his father's present. He walked over, picking up the ring in his hands for a moment, as if staring at the eye. After a moment, he put the ring back in the box and closed the lid on top of it.

It could wait.

* * *

Yugi calmly walked, ignoring the thumping in his chest as he walked in the direction that he thought he saw Bakura go into. What would Bakura be doing out here at a time like this? As he walked, he saw a few stores opening their doors and a few lights on here and there. He soon realized that he was approaching the Domino Gardens. His most favorite place ever since he had started dating Ryou. As he approached the gates, he saw someone running toward him as well, the familiar flash of white.

Ryou also noticed the familiar flash of tri-colored spikes running toward him as he neared the garden gates. What was Yugi doing here? And for that matter, hadn't he been chasing after Yugi a moment ago, not the other way around? It like as if something else had leaded him here, knew that Yugi would also be here. Unbeknownst to him, Yugi was also thinking along the same lines, wondering if someone else had lead him there, knowing that Ryou would also be there.

"Ryou?" Yugi asked.

"Yugi-kun?"

"Heh, how ironic to see you here." Yugi said with a sheepish laugh.

Ryou had the feeling that it was fate, not irony that had brought them both there. Ryou took Yugi's hand into his own.

"Let's go inside then." he offered. The two walked in, hand in hand, until they found their favorite spot in the garden, the ring of trees that Ryou had shown him those many months ago. They stood for a moment under the trees, looking either up or at each other.

"So what brought you out this lovely morning Yugi-kun?" Ryou asked.

"I don't know. I just had this feeling to come here." Yugi said quietly.

"What a coincidence..." Ryou said as their faces become closer, their lips brushing against each others. "I had the exact same feeling." Ryou whispered as their lips connected into a passionate kiss. Their arms wrapped around one another possessively, hugging each other closely as their bodies pressed against one another. Yugi gasped as he suddenly felt a pair of hands draw closer to his pants buckle. Before they both knew it, they were now on the ground; Yugi felt a trail of kisses down his neck, which made him moan with pleasure. He returned the kisses to Ryou's neck, who emitted an equal moan as well in turn. He felt the way their bodies pressed into every space of his body, their hands trailing over each others chests and kisses that would stay connected for what felt like forever. They just couldn't help but feel how soft the other was.

It felt like he had lost track of time. Yugi had never felt this comfort and pleasure before, and he didn't want it to end. As they laid on top of one other, hugged so close together, they breathed in each others scent, Ryou's peppermint and as Ryou discovered, Yugi had this peculiar cinnamon scent about him. Ryou lowered his lips to Yugi's ear, his lips brushing slightly.

"I love you, Yugi." he whispered. Yugi leaned his lips closer to Ryou's ear.

"I love you, Ryou." he whispered as well as their lips connected once more, just as the dawn had broken into bright sunlight. Unknown to them both at first, a drizzle of rain washed down on top of them. Ryou didn't notice until he saw how Yugi's colorful spikes were drooping slightly. Yugi noticed it too from the way Ryou's hair was standing.

"It's raining..." Yugi said as he looked up at the sky.

"Do you remember how it was raining the day we met?" Ryou asked him. How could Yugi forget?

"Of course I do. I still think of an orchestra every time I hear a storm thanks to you." Yugi giggled. Yugi looked up at the sky. "Why do you think that it's raining right now, Ryou-kun?"

Ryou blushed slightly before looking up as well. "It's like...it's like heaven's crying."

Yugi looked startled for a moment. "Crying?"

Ryou wrapped his arms tighter around Yugi, thankful that they were sheltered by the trees from the rain. Yugi in turn did the same, watching as tears seemed to be forming in Ryou's chocolate eyes as well. Yugi couldn't help but feel tears forming in his own eyes. Yugi smiled before laying his head on Ryou's shoulder, who was smiling now as well as they suddenly felt even closer than before.

"They're tears of joy, not pain, Yugi."


End file.
